So Does She Look Like Anyone On the Ellis Side?

Recently Michelle posted this picture of Johonna. This started me wondering if our little Johonna looks like any of her Ellis relatives. Check out the pictures below.

Jessica age 2, Sean age 1 1/2 , Great Grandad Ellis holding Grammy and Uncle Eric, Sara

Meagan age 2, Aunt Laurie and Brianna, Trisha age 2

Mom, Michelle age 2 Uncle Jack age 2 1/2 and Aunt Ashley age 2

What do you think?

Update on my student Matt

This morning we got a call from Matt's mother. The last CAT Scan showed that Matt's brain is swelling. They were going to do an MRI this afternoon and if the swelling is bad enough then they will do surgey to relieve the swelling.

When this news came across the PA system I had the middle school students in my room. They all looked so worried when they heard the word surgey. I tried my best to let them know that the doctors know what they are doing.

Please continue to say your prayers for Matt and his family.

"But Why Miss Ellis"

This past weekend and today at school has been some of the longest three days of my life. Friday during our last home football game one of our seniors passed out. At first the EMT's thought he may be suffering from heat stroke but then, the romor started among the students that Matt had taken some pain pills before the game. The decision was made to have life flight come to fly Matt to the hospital since it is a 90 mile drive. Time went by so slow as the game was delyed and we waited for life flight.

Saturday I got a call from my boss to update me on Matt's condition. The doctors were very sure that Matt had a massive stroke. My response was what? A 17 year boy in good health had a stroke. Who ever heard of this? Matt was in ICU and is at that time he was not able to move his right side. My boss asked that I call my my students in my guide class to update them on Matt's condition and to dispell the romors that Matt had taken pain pills. There were no drugs what so ever found in Matt's system. As you can guess my students were not only surprised but had lots of questions. Some I was able to answer but the question that they all asked that I could not answer was Why Miss Ellis? How do you answer this? There is no answer? I was as honest as I could be and told them that I don't know why bad things happen to good people.

Today in school we called the students together and updated them on Matt's condition. He is still in ICU and is being kept calm so that his brain does not swell. He is still not able to breathe on his own and he still can not move his right side. As the day went on students asked a variety of questions. Once again most I could answer but then one student ask "Why does life suck so much". Again I did not have an answer. I thought what my mom would say when life was in a down cycle which was "Well if you never had a bad day how would you ever know if you had a good day" Since I never really liked this statement I did not give my students this answer. I am sure I managed to say something but I have really do not remember what. I think this is one of those times when there is not an answer.

Please keep Matt and his family in your prayers.

Johanna Theresa Smith

My mom told me once that her mission in life was to be a wife and mother. She never dreamed of a career however being a wife and mother is one of the hardest jobs there is. My mom was born on the family farm in Lebanon, Oregon. (Near Crabtree) She was the 6th child of Peter and Gertrude Smith. There was about a 9 year gap between my mom and her brother, the next youngest. The doctor had told Gertrude that she should not have any more children but they so wanted more. My mom was named after her two grandmothers: Johanna Smith and Theresa Cliff. About a year and a half after my mom's birth her younger sister and best friend Toni was born. The two girls quickly were given the nickname of "The Twirps" by their older brothers and sisters. On the right is the only baby picture of my mother. It was taken at her first Strawberry fair. On the left and below are the twirps.

My mom's early years were spent living on the farm. They had walnuts and hazelnuts (filberts) as their main cash crop. To help support the family Peter worked at the local lumber mill during the day and ran the farm after work. My mom talked of her childhood often. She always felt loved by her parents. She loved school but she did not consider herself a good student. She and Toni help with the chores on the farm. She said that the walnut harvest was often in the rain and cold. By the end of the day her hands were covered black from the walnut casings. She once told me that she never wanted to marry a farmer.

My mom was raised Catholic. Sundays mornings were spent going to church and then having a BIG breakfast afterwards. Mom remembered always having to be at church early. Her father never wanted to be late. They would wait in the car until it was time to enter the church. After mass her dad, Peter, would read the paper while her mother was making breakfast. She would laugh as she talked about her brothers Don and Bob snitching bacon almost as fast as her mother could cook it. My mom always said that faith is a gift and like any gift it is up to us to use it to our benefit. She learned her faith from her parents and she taught her children her faith by her actions. Not just by going to mass but by saying the rosary and reading her prayer book every morning. She even had a prayer book in her car so she could read while she sat at red lights. She never talked bad of other religions, in fact she tried to understand their practices.

When she was 8 her older brother Don was killed when his ship the Liscomb Bay was sunk in the Pacific during WWII. My mom said that when the telegram came with the news her father cried. This was the only time that she recalled him crying. He felt such guilt because he had signed for Don to enter the Navy. This was a real tough time for the family. They were shaken and relied on their faith to understand WHY? As an 8 year old my mom did not fully grasp the entire situation. What 8 year old would? A couple years before my mom's death I found a book about the Liscomb Bay. After reading it my mom said that she felt closer to her brother. At last she understood what he went through. On the left is Don and the Twirps also known as his "Glamor Girls".

When my mom was in high school her parents sold the farm and moved to town. (Lebanon) They purchased a small house on C Street. Life was much easier in town with no farm to worry about. They did have enough yard to have a small vegetable and herb garden and lots of roses. My granny, Gertrude, loved her garden and took great pride in her roses. Living in town gave my mom more free time to enjoy her high school years. She was active with the youth group at church and was in choir at school. She enjoyed movies and music of the time. She loved going to dances with her family. I guess her parents were quite the dancers!

My mom loved her life. She was so proud of her family. Her children and grandchildren were her source of entertainment. When the grandchildren were little she could spend all day just watching them play. She may not of wanted a career but I am grateful that she was such a success in her career as a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. Mom thanks for being such a wonderful mother and friend!!

HOMECOMING

This past week was homecoming. Homecoming is Jordan Valley is very different from when I was in high school. I do not even remember much of homecoming at good old Cleveland High but I am sure we had one. Here in Jordan Valley each class creates a float for the parade. Of course students are not allowed to work on the float during the school day so we work on them after pratice. This gives me time to go home and cook dinner for my class. Nothing fancy but something to fill their stomach. We usually work until 8 or so depending on what we are doing. It is a long day but it does give a teacher time to see the students in a different role.

This is a picture of the float my class created. There was more work than it looks like. It took a couple nights to weld togther parts of the float. We did not win but we did get thrid place out of 4.

In addition to the Friday parade and games Jordan Valley has a bon fire. This year my class had to get the wood for fire. During the summer our crow nest on the football field caught fire. The powers that be at school decided we should the left over wood for the bon fire. The problem is that we had to knock down the half burnt stand and move it to the bon fire area. Thank goodness we have 5 boys in the class because the did most of the work. In the end it was a great bon fire.

The kids doing jumping jacks around the fire. I have no idea why. After jumping jacks and a few cheers then it is story time.

I enjoy spending time with my class but I am glad that homecoming is over!

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

Things have been busy starting the new school year. After a summer of sleeping in and staying up late it is kinda hard to get back into the swing of things. Not just for the students but for me as well.

This year we have 26 students in the high school and 9 students in the middle school. We only have 6 girls in the high school. Just enough to make a volleyball team. For basketball I am not sure if all the girls will be playing. If not we may not have a team. The big question so far this year is: Who will be the Homecomming princess for the freshman class. The class has 3 boys but no girls. In the 25 years that I have been teaching in Jordan Valley we have never had this problem. My class, the sophomores has one girl so we are set. I guess the freshman class advisor will have to decide what to do with her class.

We are currently in a wonderful weather situation. Cold nights and days in the high 70's. For the last couple weeks it has been in the 100's and my classroom was misreasable. With 17 computers my air conditioner was running 24 hours and it still was in the 80-90's in the room.

We have been going through some computer problems. Our computer people change networks during the summer so we are having growing pains. The big problem is that the yearbook file from last year is somewhere in computer limbo. I have asked our computer guy several times it he could tell me how to get to it and he keeps telling me that he will work on it. So far no luck. .

I hope that the growing pains that we have had so far will change and things will go great for the rest of the year.

What is in a Name

Not being a parent I have no idea what kind of things parents consider when naming thier children. Over the last few weeks I have been entering family information into my family roots program. Most of our family names are the typical John, James, Mary and Jane. However every once in awhile I will come across a name that jumps off the page.

The most unique male name so far is Tuberville. Tuberville's parents were named John and Nancy so it does not appear that his name is a family name. (I have not yet found any other Tuberville). Was his named based on a place. We do have our share of names like Tennessee and Missouri so maybe Tuberville is a city where they lived. I have no evidence of this but anything is possible.

Some parents just like the way a name sounds with the last name. Maybe this is what was the case here. So what is Tuberville's last name? Looney. That is right Tuberville Looney. . . .

Sister Karen Turns 53

Today is my big sister Karen's birthday. This is truly a day for celerbration

As you have read in my neice's blogs Karen had a stroke a couple of months ago. Her progress has been wonderful and it has reminded us all how short and special our lives are.

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite pictures of Karen!


Karen and Eric in the back yard of our house on 32nd street. Mom always had us stand in front of the flowers.










Karen as a little tyke. It does not seem that the strollers back then were made for the comfort of the baby. Where did mom put all the shopping bags? I also love the lamp. So fifties.









Sitting in Dad's chair in the living room of the 32nd street house. Karen was always a sharp dresser. Very 70's sweater and scarf!









Karen in her curly look. I liked it so much I had to get the same look for myself.











The early Stephens family. Michelle with no hair, and Karen and Casey with similar looks.

Karen and Mom stopping in the parking garage for a quick picture. We were on our way to Chad's graduation.



Karen thank you for all the love that you show and give me. My life is special becaue you are my big sister!

Who would think to put their foot behind their head?

To start with I do not think I have ever tried to put my foot behind my head. In looking through some old photos I came across this picture of Michelle.
Now I noticed in Michelle's blog that there was not a picture of her trying the foot behind the head task. So I offer this as proof that at one time she did try but failed. Maybe it is a family trait that my nephew Chris has. In all the famiy pictures that I have come across I do not have any other of my neices or nephews trying this amazing task. Or is that our family never really thought about trying!


Congrts Chris your are truly amazing in many ways! Love ya all

Summers Past

Well I just read Michelle's blog about Jo and her pool which brought tears to my eyes of summers gone by. Because there was a good size back yard at Granny's we enjoyed having the kids over during the summer. It is true that I woud warm up the water but as the kids grew older I grew smarter and I would hook the hose to the sink in the laundray room and fill the pool with warm water. It surprises me that this is something that Michelle remembers.

I went through some old pictures and picked out some of my favorites.

I think this was one of the best pools we had. The pink octupus gave Michell an instant friend. I think that it also lasted more than one season! Michelle liked to run and jump on the octupus.

Jack also loved the pool. He would laugh and splash! He usually wanted any toy he had in the pool. We had to watch the rag dolls. What a joy for both Granny and I to watch.

By the time Ashley came along the two older

kids could get a little out of hand in the pool. My time was spent making sure they did not smash her or something.

The summers of past were "good" times. The Sthepens kids brought a lot of joy to me and Granny. Watching them in the pool was a time to relax and forgot the stress of the day.

Love to you all!!

The End of Another School

One day until the end of the school year. I am not sure if the teachers are more excited than the students. For me this is not just another year it is the end of my 25th year in Jordan Valley.


When I came here so many years ago I am not sure that I planned to stay this long. As the years continued I realized how a small school district provides a wonderful place for a teacher to flourish. You have a large amount of freedom. The state standards need to be addressed but how you as a teacher elect to teach them is up to you. We have up to date technology and usually if I plan we can find money to keep it up to date.


Not only am I a queen in my classroom but having a small amount of students allows me to listen and learn about their lives. Some of the things I am told are sad but most of the things are exciting. One of favorite parts of the day is when students gather in my room before school starts. Some students are rusingh to complete their homework that is due in 15 minutes but others are there to chat. Maybe about their parents or something that happen in class the day before. All kinds of things. The students in Jordan Valley are a strong breed. Many of them work with their parents on their ranches. They start driving at the age of 3 ot 4 when ever they are old enough to steer the truck. (Usually someting heavy is on the gas petal and they hope they do not have to use the brakes) They would do just about anything for me. All I need to do is ask.



I am usually asked if I miss the students when they graduate. The answer I give is always no. For most of the seniors this is a surprised but as I tell them they will always be in my heart. I am proud that they were in my life but I am also excited of what the rest of their life will be like. There is so much of life to live after graduation. Last Saturday I said "goodbye" to the 25th class that graduated since I have been here. They like of the the classes before them are full of dreams of the future. I can't wait to see if their dreams come true.

Who is Who

In my last blog I talked about wondering where all the time has gone and how much the nieces and nephews have change over time. This inspired me to do a little picture quiz of who is who. See how many you get right. They are not in any particular order.

The answers are:

1. Jack 2. Michelle 3. Jack and Michelle 4. Casey, Jessica and Michelle 5. Michelle 6. Karen, Nancy, Chad and Eric 7. Ashley, Granny, and Sara 8. Eric (no not a prison picture just one for military ID) 9. Ashley, Sara, and Brianna 10. Grandad Ellis 11. Meagan 12. Sean

Brianna's Wedding

You may have just read my post of my trip to Seattle but the reason for the trip was to witness my niece Brianna marry her husband Ken. Ken and Brianna have been dating for a couple of years and they seem to fit each other very well. Even tho the trip was long I was excited for the day to begin.

It started with Jack, Patty, Ashley and Chris stopping by my room to change. Even tho they had just drove for 4 hours they were very upbeat. After they dressed we met Michelle, Luke and Johonna and went out for breakfast. I was sitting at a table with six young adults and a little girl of the next generationl. It seemed like just yesterday when Michelle, Jack, and Ashley would spend the night at Grans and I would be cooking them breakfast. Where had the time gone.

After breakfast we made our way to the church. A beautiful brick

Catholic church. We entered and Jessi found us and told us where to sit. It was not long until the service began. As I watched Brianna and Ken come down the asile together they both seemed so confident. The did not seem nervous at all. Again I wondered where all of the years had gone. It seemed like yesterday that I escorted Brianna and Sara to New York to spend the summer with their mom. Brianna was so serious on the plane while Sara wanted to run up and down the asiles. It is just one of the differences that these two had at one time. Today Sara and her other sisters stood with Brianna as she entered into her future life as a married women. This was my first nuptial mass. It was beautiful.

After the mass we made our way to the reception on the other side of town. This was my first day light look at Seattle since I had arrvied at night. I was a little confused by all the overpasses but the city was beautiful. The reception place had a wonderful view of the city from across the bay. It was a very relaxing setting. The food and conservations were wonderful. It was nice to see the neices and nephews and get caught up on their lives. Again my mind wondered to earlier years and the time we spent together. Back then they seemed to need us grown ups but now they are the grown ups. On their own and ready to make their mark on the world. No one knows what the future holds but I hope that Brianna and Ken and my other nieces and nephews will be able to take time for the small things. A trip to the Zoo, or a game of hair dresser will let you take time to laugh and enjoy what god has given you!!

My First Trip to Seattle

A couple weekends ago I took my first trip to Seattle to attend my wonderful niece Brianna's wedding. On a good day Seattle is about 10 hours from Jordan Valley. It took me awhile to get things together but I was out of my house before ten. I was excited to get on the road. The sooner I started the trip the sooner I would be there.

About an hour and a half from Jordan Valley I got a flat tire. If you have never been to god's country let me describe it for you. There is nothing out here. An hour and a half form Jordan Valley puts you on highway 78 between Burns Junction and Burns. There are no trees, homes, or people but there are lots of cows. I pulled my car to the side of the road and got out of the car. I took out some things so I could get to the spare tire and jack which is in the back. I have never used the jack on this car so I took time to read the directions. I set the jack and start to jack up the car. Then I start to take off the lug nuts but the tire just spins because I had jacked up the car. So I lower the car and take off the lug nuts. For some people this may have taken a few minutes. I don't move that fast so it took awhile. In the time that I had done this about 8 cars or so had passed by. No one stopped so I figured I am in this alone. Just as I was thinking this a car pulled up and asked if I could use some help. When I heard this my street smarts left my head. They did not look like they would kill me. So I let them help. I was blessed. These two men in no time had my spare on my tire on the car. I thanked them very much and resumed my trip to Seattle. My plan was to stop in Burns buy some new tires and continue on my way.

About five miles out of Burns it happened again. My back tire went flat. I could not beleive my luck. I had no spare and I figured that I was close to Burns so I decided to drive in on what was left of my tire. I know this should not be done but I was bound and determined to make it to Burns. And I did. I pulled in the turning lane to the drive into Les Schwab and I say one of the employees pointing at me. As I pulled in they directed me to lift. No waiting here. The attendent said "you did not want to put on your spare" I replied "NO it is already on." I told him my story and told him to do what ever need to be done. After a few minutes he told me that the rim was fine but I did need four new tires. Since my car is all wheel drive all the tires need to be the same. He told me that he had two sets of tires. The most expensive and the next expensive. I told him to put on the next expensive. After a half hour I was on my way.

I was again excited to resume my trip. About twenty miles out of Burns a car pulled up beside me and held up a sign that said "Low Tire" I stop and found that again one of my brand new tires was flat. How could this be? I turned around and headed back toward Burns. It was my hope that I would be able to make it back to Burns even tho the tire was low. No chance. I made it about a mile when the tire was totaly flat. I pulled over and again went through process of getting out the spare and jack. I got my tire off and was trying to figure how the spare went on when again a car pulled over. This time it was a family and the son and husband were kind enough to put on the spare. Once again I was on the road back to Burns and Les Schwab. The same attendent was there to open my door. I told him that maybe it was the rim what ever it was just fix it. I sat down and about 15 minutes later the attendent joined me. He said that the tire sensor was broken which caused the tire to loose air. He was sure they had the part and suggested that I replace it both of the tires that had gone flat. He also told me that since I drove on the low tire it had destroyed it and they could not use it. Of course Les Schwab guarantees their tires even tho it was my fault. They refunded me for the tires that I had just bought and then sold me the only set the had, the expensive set.

After a short time I was on the road. The rest of the trip was uneventful. After all of flat tires what else could go wrong. I arrived in Seattle about midnight and took a long hot shower and went right to bed. This drive was full of lessons.

They included:

Check tires before a long trip.

Don't have a lot of stuff in the car. The more stuff you have the more that you
need to take out to get to the spare.

Always buy tires at Les Schawb.

Thank Dad for teaching you how to change a tire.

Thank you Mom and Dad for watching over me!

The Strong Slient Type

Today I was going through my father's military record and I was reading some of his performance reports. My father was a career Marine. He spent 22 years of his life fighting in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He joined during WWII, like a lot of men, when he was 17. He never really talked much about his experience which is why I think I am interested in it now.

To the right is a picture that was taken early in his career. He looks so very young but he was. He left high school to join the marines and then received his GED when he was in the service. In the early years he was the typical marine on the front lines. As his career progressed he drove and mechaniced trucks, taught classes and worked in radio communications.

In reading through his reviews I came across these comments: SSgt Ellis is a quiet, modest marine with mature demenor. He posesses good knowledge of his functional field and accomplishes good results in the discharge of his duties. He is willing to accept any responsibility and is at his best when able to work independently. He is cooperative, intelligent and attentive to duty. His spare time is spent on self improvement. ( Robert Clay, Aug 4, 1964)

The review above is how I remember my father. He could enjoy being by himself all day casting a fishing line and not catching anything. He would escape to the basement to tinker with some wood project. I don't recall a lot of projects that he made other than repairs around the house. My favorie were the Sunday drives to no where. Just a drive to see what there is to see.

Now my mother and her side of the family were the talkers when something needed to be said. She enjoyed talking and spending time with family and friends. Maybe one reason my parents marriage worked so well was because they had this difference. I am sure that the first few years of their marriage was a lot of compermising and learning. I recall my mother talking about a trailer that they lived in when they first got married. The worse part was that there were no doors to slam when they got mad at each other. I guess it made them work things out quietly. The picture at the right is my parents in front of that wonderful trailer. (Love those pin curls, mom! )